President Obama and Hamid Karzai in 2010. / Charles Dharapak, AP

by David Jackson, USA TODAY

by David Jackson, USA TODAY

Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai meets with President Obama on Friday as the two leader discuss plans to withdraw U.S. troops from the Afghan war in 2014.

"The President looks forward to welcoming the Afghan delegation to Washington, and discussing our continued transition in Afghanistan, and our shared vision of an enduring partnership between the United States and Afghanistan," said the White House.

Obama, Karzai and their aides have a series of meetings in the morning, followed by lunch.

The two presidents have a joint news conference scheduled for 1:15 p.m.

One question: The U.S. presence in Afghanistan after the end of combat operations in 2014.

Some U.S. commanders have proposed keeping no more than 10,000 troops in Afghanistan after 2014, to keep battling terrorists and training Afghan forces. There are currently 66,000 troops in Afghanistan.

Some Obama aides want a faster draw down and a much smaller U.S. presence at the end -- some have even discussed a "zero option."

Karzai, who wants to keep a fairly large residual force in Afghanistan, has spent most of the week in Washington, D.C. He has met with Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and Defense Secretary Leon Panetta.

Obama is not expected to announce any decisions Friday on troop levels.

This will be the first time the two leaders have spoken since a Sept. 21 video conference.

There have been tensions between the Obama and Karzai governments. Karzai has criticized the American military over civilian deaths in the war; Obama and aides have complained of corruption within Karzai's government.